TORRINGTON >> A roundtable discussion regarding the effects of workplace policies on women co-led by Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman brought together several of Litchfield County’s female leaders on Monday evening at City Hall.

The discussion was also led by Teresa C. Younger, the executive director of the General Assembly’s Permanent Commission on the Status of Women, which organized the event in cooperation with Wyman’s office.

The discussion involved a mixture of personal stories and exchange of information regarding issues facing women. At times the discussion divulged into candid discourse about the struggles of balancing a career with a personal life and decisions one must make to ensure both are fulfilling.

The discussion regularly cited a gender work gap study commissioned by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy that was completed last fall. The study focused on the private sector and found what’s reflected in the country at large: Women in Connecticut earn on average 22 to 24 percent less than men, a gap which is even larger among minority women. The study identified factors contributing to the wage gap like unconscious bias, occupational segregation, lower starting salaries, the existence of glass ceiling and a lack of support for working families.

The decision to raise the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour last week is beneficial to women, Wyman said, because it affects 125,000 women working minimum-wage jobs.

“That’s an excellent thing for us,” Wyman said. “These are some of the issues we want to talk about to get people to understand what is going on.”

Younger said the study offered an opportunity to reopen the dialogue on the gender wage gap as well as to continue addressing issues faced by women.

Some of the workforce polices that the panel agreed are in need of improvement included paid sick leave and maternity leave, which some of the women had personal experiences dealing with.

Kloczko said that she thinks women have not learned to mentor each other the way men have, which Ryan said in response that she felt that may be due to a lack of confidence. She said women may feel the need to challenge one another in the workspace, which is behavior Ryan said she has witnessed in her field.

“We need to change our perception of ourselves sand what we are capable of and I think there’s certainly ways to change that,” Fionna de Merell, Community Engagement Director at UConn Torrington, said.

Kloczko said she wants girls to develop a good sense of self-esteem, which she said is important. She mentioned an incident involving teenagers last year at Torrington High School that she said left her feeling like she had failed as a woman to try to be a role model, to not only her own daughters but other girls. She confirmed she was referring to the sexual assault of two 13-year-old girls by members of the school’s football team, an incident which led to the conviction of two former students and garnered national attention last year when friends of the athletes took to social media to bully the victims, calling them “whores” and “snitches.”

“This incident happened and I said, ‘where did we drop the ball?’” Kloczko said.

Wilson, 28, was among the youngest to attend and near the end of the discussion jokingly said that the conversation made her feel depressed. She said her mother, a teacher, raised her to do whatever she wanted, but even so, struggles keep surfacing. Personal and private loans helped pay for her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, but paying back those loans led her to keep second-guessing a life decision.

“Now I am at a point in my life where I want to decide if I want a family,” Wilson said. “I can’t imagine taking on child care.”

Changing policies that could aid children could be beneficial, although Cook said that perhaps just as vital to developing polices are making others understand the important of having those policies. Wyman agreed, adding that this could be achieved by making sure more women were involved in politics.

Kloczko added that childcare in the workforce is definitely needed, which she said was beneficial. Wyman said this is especially pertinent considering a woman may want to work beyond a 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. job, going the extra mile to help further their careers, but still ensure her children are taken care of after hours. Younger agreed.

“It’s good for businesses to be able to provide those types of resources to your employees,” Younger said.

Carbone, who has three sons, said she experienced a workforce policy in her previous job as a paralegal. She said she would save her sick days for when her children were sick, which meant attending having to work sick at times.

“Those are the kinds of things where there can be better practices, better policies,” Carbone said.

Wyman said that she loved hosting similar discussions around the state because they offered a chance for those present to speak sincerely. She said it’s ultimately up parents to support their children and make them realize some of the ways they can improve their lives.

“We can joke about it and everything else, but most of it pushing them one way and supporting them another way,” Wyman said.

About the Author

Reporter Esteban L. Hernandez is a reporter with the New Haven Register. He formerly covered Torrington for The Register Citizen. Reach the author at ehernandez@registercitizen.com
or follow Esteban L. on Twitter: @EstebanHRZ.